Keong Saik Road ( or , ) is a one-way road located in

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

within the Outram Planning Area in Singapore. The road links

New Bridge Road New Bridge Road (; ) is a major one-way road located within the Central Area in Singapore. New Bridge Road starts at the Coleman Bridge to the south of the Singapore River and extends into Chinatown within the Outram Planning Area, before j ...

Neil Road Neil Road () is a one-way road in Chinatown, Singapore, Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar in the Urban planning areas in Singapore, planning areas of Outram, Singapore, Outram and Bukit Merah in Singapore. The road starts at the junction of South Bridge ...

, and is intersected by Kreta Ayer Road.

Etymology and history

Keong Saik Road was named in 1926 after the

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

-born Chinese businessman,

Tan Keong Saik Tan Keong Saik () (c. 1850 – 1909) was a Singaporean businessman who contributed much to the social and intellectual life of the Chinese in Singapore, Chinese community at the turn of the 19th century. He was one of the men who contributed ...

, in remembrance to his contribution to the Chinese community. The stretch of road became a prominent

red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex industry, sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light district ...

with many

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

s located in the

shophouse A shophouse is a building type serving both as a residence and a commercial business. It is defined in the dictionary as a building type found in Southeast Asia that is "a shop opening on to the pavement and also used as the owner's residence ...

s on either side of the street in the 1960s. The street, along with Sago Lane areas became notoriously known as one of the "turfs" operated by the Sio Loh Kuan secret society. The 1990s opened a new chapter for the road, with the site sprouting many "

boutique hotels Boutique hotels are small-capacity hotels that provide more personalized service than typical hotels. They typically have fewer than a hundred rooms, and are considered more "trendy" and "intimate", often due to their location in urban areas. Th ...

" like Naumi Liora, Hotel 1929, the

Regal Inn Regal may refer to: Companies * Regal Beloit, usually referred to as Regal, an American manufacturer of electric motors * Regal Cinema (disambiguation), several cinemas of that name * Regal Cinemas, a major American theater chain * Regal Cinemas ...

and Keong Saik Hotel. Keong Saik Road now mainly houses coffee shops,

art galleries An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

and other shops for commercial use. The Bukit Pasoh

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

, which is conserved on 7 July 1989, is bounded by Keong Saik road and other roads. Some shophouses along Keong Saik Road were given conservation status on 12 April 1990 and the remaining shophouses were given the same status on 25 October 1991. In 2017, it was selected as one of the top ten destinations in Asia by Lonely Planet Magazine.

Buildings

One of the most sightworthy buildings is

Cundhi Gong Temple Cundhi Gong Temple or Zhun Ti Gong Temple is a temple on Keong Saik Road in Chinatown, Singapore. Completed in 1928, it was initially a branch of a now-demolished temple on Upper Chin Chew Street. Description The Nanyang-style temple features a ...

(準提宫) at No. 13 Keong Saik Road, which was built in 1928 in the

Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing dynasty naval fleet bas ...

style. The temple, which is dedicated to the Guan Yin, Bodhisattva of Compassion, is a two storey building without a forecourt and has an area of 400 square metres.

Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple is a Hindu temple at the junction of Keong Saik Road and Kreta Ayer Road in Chinatown, Singapore. Completed in 1925, the temple has been underwent multiple major renovations. Description The front gate features de ...

at no. 73 Keong Saik Road was built in 1925. The temple was consecrated in 1975, 1989, 2007 and in 2019. The five storey Rajagopuram was added in 2007 when the temple was renovated and redesigned.

References

{{Coord, 1, 16, 48.7, N, 103, 50, 29.6, E, region:SG, display=title Roads in Singapore Outram, Singapore Chinatown, Singapore Tanjong Pagar